hey guys and gals, i'm just wondering how many other ppl on here take advantage of some of the great opportunities that are given to us by our state. I hunt mainly at Jim Edgar Panter Creek state park and see serveral wonderful deer. where do some of you other hunters go and are you successful in your adventures?
I am heading to Rend Lake in November. It will be my first time up there. I got a couple of buddies here in Alabama that have been going up to Rend the last 4 or 5 years and they have killed some good ones. Greg/MO must not know what he's doing. He's obviously not on Team 20. haha
Ah the public land conundrum. Somebody shot a really nice buck out of the public land that is closest to me. It made it into the media. The following year there was darn near a hunter in every tree. (well not really... but if I remember right, there were over 80 people out there on opening morning.) It's not that big either. I went to a pinch point that looked good on the topo and there were 8 treestands within a 100 yard radius. (most of them weren't even 20 yards apart) Stan Potts shoots a big buck out at Clinton and that place gets swamped. So... people are pretty tight lipped about the hunting on Illinois public land. Less 1% of the state is public hunting land, so crowding is a real problem. JEPC, Buckhorn... those places are supposed to be good and not overly crowded but there are still many people who will say it's terrible, just to keep people away. On the other hand there is some seriously, 'you must be a masochist to hunt here' public land in IL. Really. Truly. :D I hunt primarily on U of I land (public but limited access) in Monticello, IL. If I should happen to kill a big buck there, I will swear that it was the last one, *ever*, to roam that piece of property.
Hunted JEPC last year and ran into hunters everywhere we went...parking areas, upon entering woods, 1.5 miles away from parking area? Yes, yes and YES!! An acqaintance of mine (Ken) had his Lone Wolf sticks straps cut and left at the tree by another hunter. He know it was a guy from Michigan as the guy told him to get the "h*ll away from his area!" even after Ken flashed his flashlight at him in the AM and the only other truck at the parking area was that guy from Michigan. Ken returned that evening to find his straps cut while the guy from Michigan packed his stand up and moved or left all-together. This occurred 11/11/10 the day after I returned home. Ken ran his plates with the MI state police, got his address and sent him a nice letter with an invoice for the replacement sticks, which he knows will never occur. I have hunted both Siloam Springs Buckhorn Unit and JEPC and found more deer consistently and far less hunters at Siloam Springs, but it is resident hunting only. JEPC was over-crowded with small game hunters, horseback riders, hikers and bow hunters. I saw deer, but they literally scan the trees when they are walking!! Personally, I am going to return to Siloam Springs and also going to try Scripps Unit this year. I have no reason to be tight-lipped regarding bow-hunting as I wish everyone the best of luck out there....unless they vandalize my property!! Ken (listed above in my post) scored on a 135"+ buck in Sangrois a little further north. I did think that the campground facilities at JEPC were pretty good though!!
